Visiting Artist : Bhava Wellness
At the start of a New Year, we naturally turn inwards and find ourselves reaching for soothing, self-care products.
We are pleased and excited to introduce our friends, Radha and Damodar, former founders of Palo Santo Wellness Boutique, here in Philadelphia. Their growth has continued with a new shop and amazing products: Bhava Wellness. Each item is handcrafted with love at their studio in Tucson, AZ.
We sat with Radha and asked her about the new company and how she plan to spread more love in this New Year. Read their blog post at the link below. Enjoy their products in shop and online until March!
Q: What is the significance of your company’s name?
The word Bhava refers to a deep mood or feeling of spiritual connection, one of divine love.
My husband and I have a dedicated spiritual practice, this practice is called Bhakti Yoga or the yoga of love. Bhava or to have Bhav “this beautiful mood” is something deeply revered and something we humbly aspire to. It’s a daily reminder and act of remembrance of our connection.
This reverence, this aspiration is what we infuse into all our handcrafted offerings.
Q: How did you get to where you are? What’s the beginning story of Bhava Wellness.
Oh wow, it’s been quite the journey. How long do I have?! Our story started shortly after our first pilgrimage to India about 7 years ago. If you haven’t read the beautiful book Journey Home, get yourself a copy. The Journey Home to the heart is exactly what happened for both of us. We were led by our beloved teacher Raghunath to begin to live a life full of purpose and we had no idea what transformative undertakings were waiting for us. Gone were the days of late night partying and sleeping in late, over time they were replaced with awakening practices of mantra meditation, reading + studying sacred literature, and of course sacrificing both time and money we didn’t have taking pilgrimage after pilgrimage to dive deep into the mood of these ancient teachings. We had questions and our teachers had answers that spoke to our hearts, we were both ready to stop chasing external happiness and start the long but satisfying journey to find it within. We are here because of the blessings + teachings + (let’s be serious)...patience that our incredible teachers have given us. So…I went to school for Herbalism, for Ayurveda, for Yoga and my life changed forever. Working with plants and plant medicine brings me closer to my true nature, one which is more connected, balanced, one that allows me to practice living in harmony. When I fall out of balance, I fall away from spirit. Ayurveda gives me a foundation that supports me through change, growth, hardship, gain, loss…everything essentially. It’s a spiritualized medicine based practice that provides me with a deeper understanding of myself. This has been profound for me, so I believe it my duty to be of service to others on their paths. This is what practicing yoga and being a medicine maker looks like for me. This is the heart and soul of Bhava Wellness.
Q: Tell us about your healing products.
I love creating natural - all organic - plant based products that help people feel more connected. My little internal story goes a little something like this…you know when you have people come over for dinner and you spend hours sometimes days preparing everything with so much love? Every little detail is perfect, you get special ingredients, you clean your house like crazy…and we do all this because we want them to feel loved and supported. There is no greater happiness than the feeling of loving someone, it’s far greater than the feeling of being loved. This is the energy and mood I enjoy putting in to the products we make. They are special and are always created as an offering first. This symbolizes the giving and receiving between us and spirit, illustrating grace, love and connection.
Q: Can you share what medicine you take every day?
Practicing through the lens of Ayurveda allows me to intuitively determine what my body/mind need each day. Don’t get me wrong, I have my go to’s like - Daily Abhyanga self massage (especially being someone of predominantly Vata/Pitta nature), our Nasya, our Slumber Party herbal elixir at night in a warm cup of golden milk, our Adaptogen Magic herbal elixir in the afternoon for balance and even-ness, and of course our 3 party daily skin care routine. These are used ritualistically…then comes determining which herbs I am going to use for the day and this is where practicing the art of self awareneess is important. The seasons change, the temperature is always shifting, we go through shifts of light and dark times of the year, our surrounding are always changing and these are often things that we have little control over. Life itself is always changing and it’s our ability to adapt and still grow/feel nourished/ find joy that is important. If everything externally is always in a constant state of change, why should we keep what we eat, how we sleep, what we take in through the senses the same? This is where Ayurveda comes in. I nerd out about this stuff daily.
Q: How will you be continuing to spread love in this new year?
I can only hope that what I am offering now and into the future hits home for people, that I myself continue to learn + grow so that I can continue to be of service to others in the best and most supportive way. I have a few exciting new offerings and projects up my sleeve for this year that I am particularly thrilled about and can’t wait to share! I want to thank you for sharing a piece of my dream, this means to world to me and I couldn’t be any more grateful for this relationship. It’s this type of community support and togetherness that makes the world a sweeter and much more healing place for us all.